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LeaderNotes

A newsletter for Foundation Directors and friends of higher education in Maryland
In This Issue
Campaign Progress
Investment Performance
Board Member Profile
USG Awarded $120,000
Frostburg State University Scholarship
Trends in Philanthropy
USM News Briefs
Staff News
Quick Links
Volume 5, Number 1Winter 2011
Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As I write this note, it seems that winter has turned the corner into spring, and with it, there is a feeling of new energy and enthusiasm for all the work we do. You could sense this mood at our board meeting on February 23rd. UMB President Dr. Jay Perman's welcoming remarks underscored the emerging priorities of collaboration, civility, and innovation on campus-priorities that translate across the System. Chancellor Kirwan's report on the USM's funding from the state made us grateful for our relative good fortunes in Maryland and reminded us that we must work harder than ever in support of the USM's long-term goals. Our committee reports, including our interim Investment Chair's inaugural report, were substantive and thoughtful. I consider myself privileged to work among such sharp minds.

A few key themes emerged from our board meeting. One was the need to focus on growing our endowment in order to meet the needs of the faculty and students we serve. Since many of our campus-based development programs rely on funding from endowment assessments, growth in endowment also fuels strong fundraising efforts. Chairman Barry Gossett summarized this issue quite effectively and promised continued attention to the matter in his role as chair of the Regents' Committee on Advancement. Interim Investment Committee Chair David Saunders built upon this issue: Endowment growth comes from additions to the corpus via fundraising success and from investment returns. David's presentation demonstrated how the Investment Committee and staff work to generate steady returns without taking on unacceptable risk. Going forward, the Committee will work with the USM Foundation's clients to ensure a better understanding of these issues. Continuing the theme, Spending Policy Committee Chair Gary Dando provided a strong analysis of our spending policy and its effect on long-term endowment growth. And finally, Advocacy Committee Chair David Mister touched upon another critical source of funding: the State of Maryland. His committee is working in collaboration with the USM Office to ensure that critical legislators are aware and supportive of our financial needs.

I would also like to echo our board members and staff's praise of UMB's new Southern Management Corporation Campus Center. The building is first class in all respects and made the meeting a joy to organize.

Finally, I would like to offer congratulations to outgoing Towson University President Bob Caret, who will be taking the helm of the University of Massachusetts System on July 1. In his seven years as president at Towson, Bob has truly brought the university to new heights, gaining national recognition for closing the achievement gap between minority and white students, attracting an ever-stronger student population, and changing the face of the campus. We offer a more detailed tribute to Bob below, but let me just say that, as an alumnus and a friend, I will miss him.

As always, please contact me at [email protected] with any questions or comments.
  
Sincerely,
  
Leonard R. Raley
 



Campaign Progress

Institution

Announced

Goal

12/31/10

Bowie

11/08

$15M

  $7.5M

Coppin

10/07

$15M

$5.6M

Frostburg

10/08

$15M

$14.6M

Salisbury

6/06

$35M

$36.2M

Towson

11/06

$50M

$47.4M

UB

3/09

$40M

$49.4M

UMB

10/07

$650M

$442.9M

UMBC

9/06

$100M

$111.9M

UMCES

11/07

$8M

$6.0M

UMCP

10/06

$1B

$791.8M

UMES

9/06

$14M

$14.2M

UMUC

2/08

$26M

$24.2M

USM Federated

 -

 $1.7B

  $1.58B

Investment Performance through January 31, 2011
 

 

 

Endowment

S&P 500

Composite Benchmark

 

80/20

 

60/40

Latest Mo

0.1%

2.4%

1.1%

1.9%

1.5%

Fiscal 2011

11.8%

26.2%

14.3%

21.0%

15.8%

3 Yr AACR

-4.1%

-0.1%

-5.3%

1.6%

2.9%

5 Yr AACR

3.4%

2.2%

0.2%

3.3%

4.2%

 

Towson University President Bob Caret Stepping Down to Take the Helm of UMass System

 Bob Caret

Beloved Leader Envisioned Towson as Maryland's Metropolitan Campus
  
Towson President Robert L. Caret will be leaving the university to become President of the University of Massachusetts System beginning July 1. A native of New England, Caret became Towson University's 12th president in 2003. He served as a faculty member, dean, executive vice president, and provost of Towson University for 21 years before leaving to assume the presidency of San Jose State University in 1995.

As president, Caret helped the university to grow significantly: total undergraduate full-time enrollment in the fall of 2003 was 12,479; in the fall of 2010, undergraduate full-time enrollment stands at 16,273 - an increase of 30 percent. Graduate full-time enrollment in the fall of 2003 was 1,370. Today, it is 2,090, an increase of 53 percent.

Graduate programs doubled over the past ten years. Under Caret's leaderhip, Towson established two professional science master's programs (forensic science and applied physics) and doctorates in kinesiology, homeland security, child life, administration, and family collaboration. Towson also established a joint MBA program with the University of Baltimore.

In 2009, Towson merged the Baltimore Hebrew University - establishing the Baltimore Hebrew Institute within Towson - and integrating its programs in Jewish Studies, Jewish education, and Jewish communal service. The university has also incorporated the holdings of the Baltimore Hebrew University's Joseph Meyerhoff Library, with over 70,000 volumes including an important rare book collection, which is the largest independent Judaica library in the southeast.

During Bob Caret's tenure, funding also grew significantly. Grants and contracts grew by $12M or 68 percent. Towson University received a $10M gift, its largest ever, from the Jess and Mildred Fisher Foundation in support of the subsequently named Fisher College of Science and Mathematics.

Caret re-established connections and created new partnerships with regional business, non-profit, and civic organizations. During his tenure, he in addition to increasing enrollment substantially, he expanded the campus through the construction of state-of-the-art facilities to meet university needs.

Caret's vision of Towson University as Maryland's Metropolitan University was instrumental in relocating the national headquarters of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) to Towson's campus.

A special point of pride is the fact that, during Caret's presidency, Towson implemented nationally recognized programming that eliminated the achievement gap between white and minority students. Towson is just one of 11 schools nationwide to accomplish this.

Caret received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of New Hampshire in 1974 and his Bachelor of Science degree in organic chemistry and mathematics from Suffolk University in 1969.

 

This Month's Board Member Profile
 
David C. Saunders

Co-Founding Managing Director
K2 Advisors LLC

 

David C. Saunders, Co-Founding Managing Director of K2 Advisors, graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1981 with a B.S. degree in Business. He has been involved in investing and trading since 1983, when he joined Tucker Anthony & R. L. Day as an OTC equity trader. In 1984, Mr. Saunders joined First Boston Corp as Vice President on the equity block trading desk dealing with major institutions and also managing a proprietary book. In 1991, he joined WaterStreet Capital as Partner, and in 1992, he joined Tiger Management as Partner in charge of overall risk management and trading. In 1994, Mr. Saunders became President of WorldSec Securities, an Asian focused investment bank, overseeing all aspects of their business in the U.S.  In 1996, he joined ABN Amro Inc. as Senior Managing Director and Head of International Risk Management. In July 1994, he co-founded K2 and in May 2000, he devoted his full attention to the firm.

 

Mr. Saunders joined the USM Foundation Board (and the Investment Committee) in December 2005.  In addition, he has been a member of the University of Maryland College of Business and Management Board of Visitors. He is also a member of UMCP CBM Senior Level Mentors.

 

Mr. Saunders attended University of Maryland on a lacrosse scholarship. He is a Trustee of the Board of Directors of the Tiger Foundation, serves on the board of advisors of Outward Bound USA, and the board of directors of The Windham Chapter of the Catskill Mountain Foundation.

  

 

USG Awarded $120,000 in Science and Technology Scholarship Funds from AFCEA Bethesda Chapter

The Bethesda Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA Bethesda) has committed $120,000 over the next four years to fund scholarships for students enrolled in degree programs at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG) in the areas of science, engineering, bitotechnology, computer science and other technology disciplines. In recognition of this gift and past contributions, USG will name the campus Board Room, located in the award-winning Camille Kendall Academic Center, in honor of AFCEA Bethesda.  For more information about the Kendall Center, go to the USG website

 

The Bethesda chapter of AFCEA is a non-profit organization that fosters government-industry relationships and facilitates the exchange of ideas about communications, intelligence, imaging, and information systems technologies.

 

In addition to the scholarship funding, AFCEA Bethesda and USG are looking into further partnership opportunities that will increase student success, including job fairs and a mentoring program.  USG will continue to work with AFCEA Bethesda, other local organizations, and the University System of Maryland to expand opportunities for high quality, public education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

 

Brothers Honor Parents' Self-Sacrifice With Scholarship to Frostburg State University
Forresters 
To honor the sacrifices their parents made to make their children's college education possible, twin brothers the Rev. Dr. Donald Forrester and retired U.S. Air Force Col. Ronald Forrester recently endowed the G. Wesley and Margaret M. Forrester Education Scholarship with combined gifts totaling more than $10,000 to the Frostburg State University Foundation.

The Forrester Education Scholarship will support students from Allegany, Garrett, Washington and Frederick counties who are enrolled full-time in the Department of Educational Professions at FSU.

Though their mother, Margaret, did not have the chance to pursue her own college degree, she and her husband knew how important a higher education would be to their children's success.

Ron and Don both graduated from Frostburg State College in 1967, alongside their future spouses, all with academic honors. After graduation, Ron and Don used their experience at FSU to build their careers.  According to Don, "My four years at FSU provided the critical academic and professional foundation upon which I built a 37-year career as an educator and educational administrator." His brother followed his tenure at FSU with a successful 27-year military career in the Air Force, followed by a second career at Science Applications International Corp.
  
See full story here.

 

Trends in Philanthropy

Back to (Semi-) Normal Inside Higher Ed, Jan. 27, 2011


College and university endowments rebounded from a difficult 2009 with a 11.9 percent average investment return in 2010 according to the annual endowment study conducted by Commonfund and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). Larger endowments tended to outperform mid-size and small endowments, though the averages were very close. Institutions did invest more in "short-term securities/cash/other" than in the past, a potential sign that colleges and universities want to avoid liquidity issues in the future.  For full story, see article.

 

VSE Report: U.S. Donors Show Steady Commitment to Education

While giving to colleges and universities during the 2009-10 fiscal year didn't increase as much as anticipated, donors continued to "demonstrate their commitment to higher education with $28 billion in private support during the slow climb out of the recession," says CASE President John Lippincott in response to the Voluntary Support of Education survey results.

 

Released in early 2011, the Council for Aid to Education's annual VSE survey results indicate that private giving to higher education increased by 0.5 percent in 2009-10 following the dramatic decline of 11.9 percent the previous year. According to Lippincott, this suggests that it may take two or three years, or longer depending upon the pace of the economic recovery, to reach or exceed the high point of $31.6 billion in philanthropic support in 2007-08.

 

VSE researchers attribute the modest increase to corporate and foundation support, which grew by 2.4 percent and 2 percent, respectively. In contrast, alumni giving, which has been declining for a number of years, decreased by 0.4 percent.

 

Lippincott says the continued decline in the amount of alumni giving is an area of "ongoing concern."

"Part of this decline may be attributable to alumni making their gifts through donor-advised funds and family foundations," he says. "Nonetheless, colleges and universities need to pay special attention to engaging their alumni and to helping them understand the importance of their gifts, no matter the size."

Other trends noted in the VSE report:

  • Nearly 52 percent of all responding institutions reported increases in giving compared to about 33 percent the previous year.
  • As a group, private baccalaureate colleges reported the largest increase in giving in 2010 (2.9 percent) after experiencing one of the largest declines (18.3 percent) the year before.
  • Alumni participation decreased from 10 percent in 2009 to 9.8 percent in 2010.

The annual VSE report is sponsored by CASE.

USM News Briefs
The Tech Council of Maryland honored USM Board of Regents Chair Clifford M. Kendall with its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award on February 9 at a black tie celebration at the Mariott Bethesda-North.
 
Regent Norman R. Augustine has been named Drexel University's 2011 Engineering Leader of the Year. Regent Augustine was honored by the Philadelphia institution at a ceremony on February 25 as part of Drexel's National Engineers Week celebration.

 

On January 31, at the Maryland State House, the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center, in collaboration with the National Conference of State Legislatures, announced the College Completion Agenda: State Capitals Campaign. The State Capitals Campaign is a year-long, multi-state campaign to galvanize and mobilize the nation to significantly increase the proportion of Americans who hold a postsecondary degree by 2025. Hosted by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and College Board President Gaston Caperton, the inaugural event of the State Capitals Campaign serves as a call to action to improve college completion rates and return the United States to its place as the global leader in educational attainment.  See full article here.

  
Dr. Wallace Loh will be inaugurated as President of the University of Maryland on April 28 at 10:00 a.m., in the Dekelboum Concert Hall.

 

Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine has ranked the University of Maryland, College Park, as fifth on its list of the 100 best values in public colleges.  Salisbury University, Towson University, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County also made the publication's list of best values.
  
The MBA program at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business ranked No. 18 in the United States in the Financial Times' MBA 2011 rankings. The influential rankings place Smith No. 10 in the world for research, the fifth consecutive year in the top 15. The Smith School's MBA program also comes in as the No. 4 program among public business schools in the United States in the Financial Times ranking. The program ranked No. 40 globally.

University of Maryland, College Park Provost Nariman Favardin has accepted the position of president of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, effective July 1. 
  
Presidents from 21 community colleges and public four-year institutions gathered in Annapolis on January 31 to sign the Maryland Campus Compact for Student Veterans, a formal agreement to improve on-campus services for veteran students. USM institutions represented included: Coppin State University, Bowie State University, Salisbury University; Towson University; University of Baltimore; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and University of Maryland, College Park. Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown - a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, a graduate of ROTC, and the nation's highest-ranking elected official to serve a tour of duty in Iraq - convened the meeting and worked closely with veteran advocates and higher education leaders to forge the important partnerships that will ease student veterans' transition to campus life. Nearly 15,000 Maryland veterans received GI Bill education benefits during the fall 2010 semester.  See the press release for more details.  
 
  
Staff News
 
Donna Meyer, Director of Research in the Office of Advancement, retired on February 28 after more than 11 years of service to the USM.  A native of Indiana, Donna previously worked for Perdue University.  Donna and her husband, Larry, have built a new home near Nashville, Tennessee.  They have sons in Atlanta, Georgia, and London, England, and additional family in Indiana. After settling into their new home, they intend to spend time traveling and enjoying their new found free time.
Diana White
Editor
301-445-1999